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Wisconsin vote sends bill repealing union rights to Senate

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly took
the first significant action on their plan to strip collective
bargaining rights from most public workers, abruptly passing the
measure early Friday morning before sleep-deprived Democrats
realized what was happening.

The vote ended three straight days of punishing debate in the
Assembly. But the political standoff over the bill - and the
monumental protests at the state Capitol against it - appear far
from over.

The Assembly's vote sent the bill on to the Senate, but minority
Democrats in that house have fled to Illinois to prevent a vote and
say they won't return unless Republican Gov. Scott Walker agrees to
discuss a compromise. Republicans who control the Senate sent state
troopers out looking for them at their homes on Thursday, but they
turned up nothing.

"This kind of solidifies our resolve," Democratic Sen. Chris
Larson said Friday after the Assembly vote. "If we come back,
they're going to ram this through without us having a say."

Walker's contains a number of provisions he says are designed to
fill the state's $137 million deficit and lay the groundwork for
fixing a projected $3.6 billion shortfall in the upcoming 2011-13
budget.

Protests ontinue in WisconsinGetty Images/Scott Olson

The flashpoint is language that would require public workers to
contribute more to their pensions and health insurance and strip
them of their right to collectively bargain benefits and work
conditions.

Democrats and unions see the measure as an attack on workers' rights and an attempt to cripple union support for Democrats. Union
leaders say they would make pension and health care concessions if
they can keep their bargaining rights, but Walker has refused to
compromise.

Tens of thousands of people have jammed the Capitol since last
week to protest, pounding on drums and chanting so loudly that
police providing security have resorted to ear plugs. Hundreds have
taken to sleeping in the building overnight, dragging in air
mattresses and blankets.

Walker issued a statement Friday praising the Assembly for
passing the bill and renewing his call for Senate Democrats to
return.

"The fourteen Senate Democrats need to come home and do their
jobs, just like the Assembly Democrats did," Walker said.

Sign of supportMPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said Friday that the Assembly's
passage of the bill did not change Senate Democrats' intent to stay
away.

With the Senate immobilized, Assembly Republicans decided to act
and convened the chamber Tuesday morning.

Democrats launched a filibuster, throwing out dozens of
amendments and delivering rambling speeches. Each time Republicans
tried to speed up the proceedings, Democrats rose from their seats
and wailed that the GOP was stifling them.

Debate had gone on for 60 hours and 15 Democrats were still
waiting to speak when the vote started around 1 a.m. Friday.
Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, opened the roll and closed
it within seconds.

Democrats looked around, bewildered. Only 13 of the 38
Democratic members managed to vote in time.

Republicans immediately marched out of the chamber in single
file. The Democrats rushed at them, pumping their fists and
shouting "Shame!" and "Cowards!"

The Republicans walked past them without responding.

Democrats left the chamber stunned. The protesters greeted them
with a thundering chant of "Thank you!" Some Democrats teared up.
Others hugged.

GOP leaders in the Assembly refused to speak with reporters, but
earlier Friday morning Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford,
warned Democrats that they had been given 59 hours to be heard and
Republicans were ready to vote.

"I applaud the Democrats in the Assembly for earnestly debating
this bill and urge their counterparts in the state Senate to return
to work and do the same," Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald,
R-Horicon, said in a statement issued moments after the vote.

The governor has said that if the bill does not pass by Friday,
the state will miss a deadline to refinance $165 million of debt
and will be forced to start issuing layoff notices next week.
However, the deadline may not as strict as he says.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau said earlier this week
that the debt refinancing could be pushed back as late as Tuesday
to achieve the savings Walker wants. Based on a similar refinancing
in 2004, about two weeks are needed after the bill becomes law to
complete the deal. That means if the bill is adopted by the middle
of next week, the state can still meet a March 16 deadline, the
Fiscal Bureau said.

Frustrated by the delay, Senate Republican Majority Leader Scott
Fitzgerald, Jeff Fitzgerald's brother, ordered state troopers to
find the missing Democrats, but they came up empty. Wisconsin law
doesn't allow police to arrest the lawmakers, but Fitzgerald said
he hoped the show of authority would have pressured them to return.